Napoli v Dinamo Moskva preview

In sparkling form at home, SSC Napoli will attempt to break their duck against Russian opponents as they take on FC Dinamo Moskva in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

What they say
Rafael Benítez, Napoli coach: "Every day, supporters tell me that I have to stay here because they've never seen Napoli playing such beautiful football. My future is the match against Dinamo Moskva – a high-quality team – and I will only speak about what comes next in April."

Stanislav Cherchesov, Dinamo Moskva coach: "We had a long trip here and we will do our best tomorrow. We are not here to take part, but to win. I have been here twice in the past, but it was 25 years ago and this is a different type of football. Napoli are an excellent team with excellent players. This is a beautiful match to be involved in."

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA club competition.

• Napoli have drawn both of their previous home games against Russian sides, and have lost both of their previous two-legged encounters with Russian opponents.

• Current Dinamo coach Stanislav Cherchesov played in goal for the FC Spartak Moskva side that beat Napoli 5-3 on penalties after two 0-0 draws in a 1990/91 European Cup second round tie.

• Dinamo's record in Italy is W1 L1. Their record in their two previous two-legged ties against Italian sides is the same: W1 L1.

Form guide
• In defeating Trabzonspor AŞ 1-0 at home, Napoli set a new UEFA Europa League record by registering their fifth straight clean sheet. Previously they were one of eight clubs on four. They are unbeaten in ten European home games (W8 D2).

• One of only three sides left in the round of 16 who started out in the third qualifying round, Dinamo are unbeaten in 12 European games this season (W9 D3) and were the only side to make it through the group stage with six straight wins.

• Napoli have not reached the quarter-finals of a major UEFA tournament since they won the UEFA Cup in 1988/89, beating VfB Stuttgart over two legs in the final.

• Dinamo have not featured in the last 16 of a European competition since the 1995/96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, when they bowed out to SK Rapid Wien in the quarter-finals. Their biggest European success to date was reaching the final of the 1971/72 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost to Rangers FC.

Trivia and links
• Napoli midfielder Marek Hamšík and Dinamo defender Tomáš Hubočan are team-mates with Slovakia.

• Dinamo forward Aleksandr Kokorin turns 24 on the day of the second leg in Moscow.

• Napoli (1989) are among five former UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League winners in the round of 16 along with FC Internazionale Milano (1991, 1994, 1998), AFC Ajax (1992), holders Sevilla FC (2006, 2007, 2014) and FC Zenit (2008).

• Napoli are one of five Italian clubs in the round of 16; only once before has one nation been represented by so many sides at this stage, West Germany having provided five contenders in the 1979/80 UEFA Cup.

The coaches
• Napoli coach since May 2013, Rafael Benítez won two Spanish titles and the 2003/04 UEFA Cup with Valencia CF, the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League with Liverpool FC and the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League with Chelsea FC. The Spaniard lifted the Coppa Italia in his first Napoli campaign. Benítez could match Giovanni Trapattoni in becoming only the second coach to win the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League for a third time.

• Benítez (Chelsea, 2013) is one of three coaches involved in the round of 32 who have won the UEFA Europa League since the competition took on its current incarnation, along with Zenit's André Villas-Boas (FC Porto, 2011) and Sevilla's Unai Emery (Sevilla, 2014). Benitez is the only coach in the last 32 to have won the UEFA Champions League.

• Dinamo coach since April 2014, Stanislav Cherchesov made his name as a goalkeeper with FC Spartak Moskva, 1. FC Dynamo Dresden and FC Tirol Innsbruck, also playing international football for the Soviet Union, the CIS and Russia. As a player, he claimed three Austrian titles with Tirol, going on to coach FC Wacker Innsbruck along with a number of Russian sides including Spartak.